Cancel Me If You Can

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INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | #1 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER

In his unfiltered style, Dave Portnoy details the journey of how he built his polarizing media empire, Barstool Sports, while refusing to bend the knee to those who tried to tear him down, staying true to himself and blocking out the haters.

Dave Portnoy is a gambler. From his days playing Little League baseball, he has always bet on himself and his future, which is exactly how he built his digital media empire, Barstool Sports. It all started in 2004, when Dave wrote what he knew and passed out a four-page broadsheet newspaper all over Boston. The idea was simple but revolutionary: not everyone wanted their sports takes from SportsCenter anchors in suits. Fans wanted something local, raw, and unapologetic—written in the same language and tone you might hear at your local sports bar. So, Dave gave it to them.

More than twenty years later, Barstool has grown into a nine-figure company with over 300 employees and 150 active brands. But the story doesn’t end there. Dave continues to expand Barstool and his personal brand, launching into the world of sports betting, giving honest pizza reviews, building generational media stars, and giving back to dog shelters and small businesses with the help of his own famous rescue dog, Miss Peaches.

Though he didn’t set out to be a political lightning rod, it happened—and he’s fully aware that half the internet hates him while the other half loves him. The truth? He doesn’t care, as long as people take interest. He’s always been brutally honest, and he always will be. Dave’s journey hasn’t been perfect. He’s failed—publicly and personally—and he’s constantly willing to risk it all. Why? Because he already knows what it’s like to lose everything and start over, time and time again. So why not?

In Cancel Me If You Can, Dave lays it all out: the hard work, the timing, the luck, the poisonous relationships behind the curtain, and the balls it took to get to where he is today. This isn’t a memoir or a business book—it’s another bet on himself. But honestly, would you really want to bet against him? The odds are against it.

Dave Portnoy, known as “El Presidente,” is founder of Barstool Sports, a digital media company known for its sports, humor, and pop culture content. Initially a four-page newspaper distributed in Boston, Barstool has grown into a multi-million-dollar company with millions of followers across the world. Along with his success as owner of Barstool, Dave is widely known for his candid pizza review videos and passionate dog shelter advocacy following his adoption of his pitbull Miss Peaches. Dave raised over $41 million through the Barstool Fund to support small businesses hurt by the COVID pandemic. He recently launched Lucky One Lemonade, an alcoholic beverage that supports animal rescue efforts. A strong, influential businessman and social media personality, he is known for his sharp wit, honesty, and bold, authentic voice. Dave splits his time between Nantucket and Miami with Miss Peaches and his beagle, Pete.

Dave Portnoy’s highly anticipated book, Cancel Me If You Can, offers readers a raw, unapologetic, and fiercely independent look at the rise of one of the most polarizing figures in modern media. Far from a polished, conventional business guide or a sanitized celebrity memoir, the book is a gritty reflection of Portnoy’s lifelong philosophy of gambling on himself. Known to millions as "El Presidente," Portnoy strips away the corporate veneer to tell the true story of how he transformed a massive gamble into a nine-figure digital media empire, surviving relentless controversies, personal setbacks, and endless attempts to cancel him along the way.

The narrative traces Portnoy’s journey all the way back to his childhood on the North Shore of Massachusetts, demonstrating that his penchant for risk-taking and unshakeable self-belief were ingrained long before Barstool Sports ever existed. From his days playing Little League baseball, he was always a gambler in the metaphorical sense—someone perfectly willing to bet his entire future on his own vision. This relentless drive culminated in 2004 when he took to the streets of Boston to hand out a humble, four-page broadsheet newspaper to passing commuters. The premise behind this early version of Barstool Sports was brilliantly simple yet revolutionary for its time: fans were exhausted by the stiff, suit-and-tie sports commentary offered by major networks. Portnoy recognized a massive, untapped market for sports journalism that sounded exactly like the unfiltered, passionate, and sometimes inappropriate conversations happening in local sports bars. He offered the public raw, honest takes that spoke directly to the everyday fan, completely changing the landscape of sports media.

As the book progresses, Portnoy details the monumental growth of Barstool Sports over the next two decades. What started as a local Boston paper slowly evolved into a sprawling digital behemoth encompassing over three hundred employees and a hundred and fifty active brands. But he does not shy away from the darker, more chaotic elements of this rise. He openly discusses the grueling hard work, the serendipity of perfect timing, and the sheer luck that played a role in his success. More importantly, he pulls back the curtain on the poisonous relationships, union-busting accusations, and behind-the-scenes betrayals that accompanied his rapid ascent. Readers are given a front-row seat to his public and personal failures, including near-bankruptcy and fierce corporate battles. He showcases a man who has repeatedly hit rock bottom, only to leverage those losses into even greater victories. Because he has experienced what it is like to lose everything, he operates with a fearless mentality, constantly willing to risk it all to protect his brand and his unique voice.

A significant portion of Cancel Me If You Can addresses Portnoy's status as a cultural and political lightning rod. Without originally setting out to become a central figure in the culture wars, he acknowledges that his refusal to apologize for his comedic style made him exactly that. He is fully aware that the internet is split violently down the middle regarding his persona—half of the public adores his defiance and authenticity, while the other half actively roots for his downfall, launching campaigns for his cancellation. True to form, Portnoy insists that he simply does not care about the manufactured outrage. As long as people remain interested and engaged, he considers it a win. He refuses to bend the knee to corporate pressure, media hit pieces, or online mobs, maintaining the brutal honesty that has always been his defining trademark.

Beyond the controversies and the boardroom battles, the book also highlights the broader expansion of Portnoy’s empire and his evolution as a public figure. He delves into his highly lucrative pivot into the world of sports betting, his wildly popular "One Bite" pizza reviews that can make or break independent pizzerias, and his uncanny knack for discovering and building generational media stars under the Barstool umbrella. Surprisingly, he also reveals a softer, deeply philanthropic side that his fiercest critics often ignore. Portnoy reflects on his massive fundraising efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the Barstool Fund raised over forty-one million dollars to save hundreds of struggling small businesses from going under. He also shares his passionate advocacy for animal rescue, famously championed by his beloved rescue pitbull, Miss Peaches, and his beagle, Pete, which led to the creation of ventures like Lucky One Lemonade to support dog shelters nationwide.

Ultimately, Cancel Me If You Can is an explosive, unvarnished testament to the power of authenticity in an increasingly sanitized world. Dave Portnoy lays all his cards on the table, offering a compelling narrative that is equal parts entertaining, informative, and deeply provocative. He frames the entire book as yet another massive bet on himself, daring his critics and his fans alike to read his unfiltered truth. It is a story of fierce resilience and unapologetic ambition, proving that whether you love him or hate him, his cultural impact is undeniable, and betting against Dave Portnoy has always been a losing game.